The Darkness were on the crest of a wave as 2003 drew to a close. In the space of 12 months, the Lowestoft rockers had gone from much-loved cult concern on the London circuit to one of the biggest-selling acts of the year, their debut Permission To Land going to Number One and selling in the multi-millions. There was only one way to see out this triumphant year and that was by crowning it with their very own Christmas song. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) was released in December 2003 – 20 years ago this month – and last year, frontman Justin Hawkins told The New Cue all about its creation.
“We hadn’t been signed to Atlantic very long and the relationship was really fresh and exciting, we were just best friends really,” Hawkins explained. “I remember Max Lousada, who was second in command at Atlantic, said to us, ‘What do you want to do next, lads?’ and we laughingly said, ‘Christmas song!’ expecting them to shoot it down but then they went, ‘Yeah, alright, cool.’”
